 |
| (Picture through the other bedroom window. I kind of like the contrast of the window screen) |
Winter is in fully swing here in New Home 2.0
I am reliably informed that the "bad part" of the year is between December and February; the comment is just that one just "bears with it", gets the appropriate clothing on, and goes about one's business. The weather outcomes generally seem to be three potentialities: clear and cold, overcast and cold, or rainy and cold. A fourth combines all four of those elements into a single day. A fifth possibility, snow, has yet to present itself.
Ah well. It is quite lovely and green here, which all comes at a cost.
---
The Ravishing Mrs. TB was here this weekend for a visit (departing the day of this publishing), both to bring another load of things to the apartment as well as to attend our company Christmas party (see below for more details). Any trip now has two to three full suitcases that come with her (as well as with anyone coming with her, as happened with Na Clann and Thanksgiving). Even with her "final trip" early next month, she will still be shuttling back and forth for a bit due to engagements, the fact Na Clann are still there, and looking after finishing up on working through things at the house. At this point, she is planning on bringing her car out in April or May with a last load - what that means, of course, is that for three or four months we will have one car between us. I cannot remember that happening since I was a very young child growing up.
A follow-on note about her job: her employer has extended the part time work to 14 January 2025, or just before she flies out. There is a certain amount of sense to that of course - with the year end and the transition, it will help to close out their books. It will also be nice as that is now an additional two weeks of income we had not anticipated.
Suddenly, the one unused benefit in my relocation package - job search assistance for one's spouse - comes in handy.
---
This year, for the first time in more years than I can remember, I was part of both a department holiday party and site holiday party.
 |
| (From the department party. As delicious as it looked.) |
I honestly cannot remember the last departmental party I was part of; the last formal Christmas Party (it was that long ago they called it that) was 2015. Both were delightfully enjoyable.
The departmental party was a combination of a shared activity (making and eating pizza) and a party games/good gifts white elephant exchange (out of which I got a bottle of wine and three chocolate bars; it pays to draw the first pick and then be able to re-choose at the end). The Christmas Party was the sort of event that, once upon a time, used to be the typical year event: nice venue, semi-formal dress (or more, seemingly for the young people), reasonably good food, drinks, and music for dancing at the end (which, given our age, we bow out of and head home).
It certainly built a sense of shared experience in a non-work setting, something that has been sadly lacking from my last few jobs. It was not just the companies themselves either: The Plague stripped so much from our social experience that really does seem gone in so many ways.
---
The year end speeds on from this point.
We have one more "official" full week of work before our vacation starts. We get a long one this year, from 24 December 2024 to 01 January 2025 (yes, I suppose I could have extended it even more, but I am very close to the upper limit of how far I can go into the hole for vacation). The intent is that I will fly back to New Home on 24 December to be home for Christmas, then fly back to New Home 2.0 on 28 December and have some time back here prior to having to go back to work - so in a way, I almost have two separate tranches of time off.
Given the way Christmas falls this year, what has become my usual "posting schedule" will be a bit off, and my responses may be delayed (for which I beg your pardon). I am sure the fact the schedule is "off" will bother no-one but me: I am, if nothing else, a creature of habit.
---
Even as I have been writing this, the sun has been doing its best to make its appearance.
It is never bad to be grateful for the briefest and most evanescent of things.
All in all, it sounds like things are going very well. The transition is winding down, with New Home 0.2 sounding like a good place to be. You all deserve it.
ReplyDeleteAn extra two weeks of pay....a welcome Christmas gift indeed. With your busy schedule for the upcoming weeks don't worry about "timely" posting even for yourself, remember "change"........:)
ReplyDeleteWinter has arrived for us too with nearly three days of rain, quite a bit of it freezing during the overnight hours. In the middle, my MIL had a flight to go home to her country for the next six months. I was going to make that drive come hell or high water and the flight did take off as scheduled. We were lucky as we always try for early morning flights but could only get a mid afternoon flight this time around and by then, temps were around 35 degrees!
ReplyDeleteIn all my years, I have never had a Christmas office party. The closest was at my last place of employment where on one day before our Christmas break, everyone brought in snack food to share. But they always gave us between Christmas and New Year's off paid so I was willing to make that trade.